GB2143116A

GB2143116A - Storage unit

Info

Publication number: GB2143116A
Application number: GB08318995A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeffrey Wernick
Original assignee: J Wernick
Current assignee: J Wernick
Priority date: 1983-07-13
Filing date: 1983-07-13
Publication date: 1985-02-06
Also published as: GB8318995D0

Abstract

A storage unit is described having a body 3 and a shelf 1 arranged to move forwards out of the body on substantially horizontal supports 2 provided one at each side of the shelf. The supports extend towards but stop short of the rear of the body, and stop means 8 is mounted on the body to limit forward movement of the shelf beyond a predetermined forward position. Detent means 7 on the shelf arranged below and adjacent a back portion of the shelf engage, upon forward movement of the shelf from its rearward position, with a corresponding substantially horizontal guide means associated with at least one of the supports so as to prevent the shelf from tilting forwardly a significant amount during and after forward movement thereof towards its predetermined forward position. The shelf, in its rearward position, can be tilted forwardly until the detent means clears said at least one horizontal support so as to permit removal of the shelf from the body. The guide means may comprise the under surfaces of support rails 2 (as shown), a separate guide rail, or spaced rollers or wheels. The supports may comprise rails 2 (as shown), or rollers or wheels. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Storage Unit This invention relates to storage units.

A video recorder is an expensive and bulky item. As it has to be connected to a television set, it is convenient to position it adjacent to the television receiver from which the signal is to be recorded or on which the recording on a previously recorded tape is to be displayed. Hence it is convenient to provide a storage unit for a video recorder, possibly also including provision for storage of a number of video tape cassettes, and also for the television set. This latter can be stood on the top of the storage unit itself or a recess or cupboard can be provided in the unit to receive the television receiver.

As video recorders are delicate instruments it is desirable to protect them from household dust.

For this reason (and possibly also for aesthetic reasons) it is desirable to provide for the video recorder to be housed in a cabinet so that as little dust as possible can settle on the video recorder itself and hence so that the possibility of dust infiltrating and damaging the operating parts of the recorder can be minimised. However most video recorders require access both to the top and to the front of the machine for loading of cassettes and operation of the machine. Hence it is necessary either to provide ample access to the recorder or, if it is a more or less snug fit in the unit, to arrange for it to be supported on a slidable shelf member to enable convenient operation of the machine.

The present invention accordingly seeks to provide an improved form of storage cabinet for housing video recorders and similar items which facilitate storage of the recorder in a compact space whilst allowing for easy installation and operation of the recorder or other item.

According to the present invention there is provided a storage unit having a body and a movable shelf mounted therein, the shelf being arranged to move forwards out of the body on substantially horizontal supports provided one at each side of the shelf, the supports extending towards but stopping short of the rear of the body, stop means being mounted on the body to limit forward movement of the shelf beyond a predetermined forward position, and detent means on the shelf arranged below and adjacent a back portion of the shelf and adapted to engage, upon forward movement of the shelf from its rearward position, with a corresponding substantially horizontal guide means associated with at least one of the supports so as to prevent the shelf from tilting forwardly a significant amount during and after forward movement thereof towards its predetermined forward position, the arrangement being such that, in its rearward position, the shelf can be tilted forwardly until the detent means clears said at least one horizontal support so as to permit removal of the shelf from the body.

Preferably the storage unit is constructed as a cabinet and a door is pivotally attached to the forward end of the shelf for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. Hence in a particularly preferred embodiment a door is secured by means of one or more hinges to the forward end of the shelf, with the axis of the hinges being arranged substantially horizontally. The hinges are conveniently positioned intermediate the top and bottom edges of the door, for example between about one quarter and about one half way up the door measured from its lower edge.

According to a preferred feature of the invention detent means may be provided at both sides of the shelf. The guide means with which the or each detent means engages may comprise an under surface of a corresponding support or a separate guide means, such as a guide rail or a plurality of appropriately spaced guide rollers or idler wheels.

The horizontal supports conveniently comprise rails. However they may comprise guide rollers or idler wheels.

The detent means may comprise end portions of a transverse member fastened to and extending across the back of the shelf, being maintained below and in spaced relationship thereto by suitable spacer means.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of part of a storage cabinet incorporating the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line II--II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a similar cross-section to that of Figure 2, showing the shelf in position intermediate its rearward and forward positions; Figure 4 is a plan view of the shelf with its door open; and Figure 5 is a side view corresponding to Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, and to Figure 1 in particular, a storage cabinet for a video recorder includes a slidable shelf or tray 1 arranged to run on rails 2 mounted one on each side wall 3 of a corresponding recess in the cabinet. (As illustrated only one rail 2 and one side wall 3 is shown but it will be apparent to the skilled reader that a further rail 2 and a further side wall, neither of which is shown, would be required in order to support the near side of the shelf 1). As can be seen from Figure 1, rail 2 is shorter than the frontto-back dimension of shelf 1 and its rear edge 4 lies short of the rear edge 5 of side wall 3.

Mounted underneath shelf 1 are a pair of members 6 which run in a front-to-back direction and which serve to support a transverse member 7 in spaced relationship below and fixed to shelf 1. Transverse member 7 acts as a detent to prevent forward tilting of shelf 1 to any significant degree, during and after forward movement from its rearmost position, by engagement with the undersurface of rails 2. However in the rearmost position of shelf 1, transverse member 7 lies behind the rear edge 4 of rails 2, as can be seen from Figure 2, thus enabling shelf 1 to be tilted forwardly, as indicated by arrow A, until transverse member 7 can be lifted above rail 2; shelf 1 can then be withdrawn fully from its recess.

Normally shelf 1 cannot be withdrawn fully from its recess as stop members 8 are provided, one on each side of shelf 1 (only one is shown in Figure 1); these stop members 8 are arranged so as to engage the transverse member 7 and normally prevent withdrawal of shelf 1 from its recess beyond a predetermined forward position.

To facilitate withdrawai of shelf 1 from its recess and to provide access to the recess for the necessary electrical connections to the video recorder, an aperture may be provided in the rear wall of the recess (not shown).

A door 9 is secured by means of hinges 10 to the front end of shelf 1. As can be seen from Figure 2 and 3 hinges 10 are positioned about three eighths of the way up the door 9 from its lower edge 11. In the rearward position of the shelf 1 door 9 abuts against stop members 8, as shown in Figure 2. However, upon manually pivoting door 9 forward about hinges 10, as shown by arrow B in Figure 3, pivoting also occurs about the lower edge 11 of the door 9 which rides up the front edge of the stop members 8 and shelf 1 is simultaneously drawn forwards out of its recess until door 9 lies horizontally, as shown in Figure 5. A stop member 12 is provided on the back lower edge of door 9 to stop door 9 pivoting forwardly beyond the horizontal position.After completing this action shelf 1 has been drawn forwardly sufficiently to permit ready access to the top of a video recorder mounted thereon for easy loading or unloading of a tape cassette whilst the controls at the front of the recorder are freely operable. However, upon closing door 9, shelf 1 is returned to its rearward position and the video recorder is more or less snugly received in its corresponding recess and is thereby shielded from view as well as being largely protected from dust.

It will be appreciated by the skilled reader that, if desired, rails 2 may be supplemented or replaced by a plurality of spaced idler wheels or rollers.

The storage unit of the invention may be constructed from wood, wood substitutes (e.g.

blockboard or compressed wood shavings boards), plastics, plastics coated materials (e.g.

plastics coated compressed wood shavings boards), metal or the like. Suitable anti-friction coatings can be applied in known manner as appropriate to facilitate movement of moving parts.

Besides providing accommodation for a video recorder, the storage unit may further comprise a recess or cupboard for a television set and/or one or more drawers, recesses or cupboards to receive video cassettes.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to storage units for video recorders but can be adapted for any form of storage unit, e.g.

storage units for "hi-fi" equipment, cocktail cabinets or the like.

Claims

1. A storage unit having a body and a movable shelf mounted therein, the shelf being arranged to move forwards out of the body on substantially horizontal supports provided one at each side of the shelf, the supports extending towards but stopping short of the rear of the body, stop means being mounted on the body to limit forward movement of the shelf beyond a predetermined forward position, and detent means on the shelf arranged below and adjacent a back portion of the shelf and adapted to engage, upon forward movement of the shelf from its rearward position, with a corresponding substantially horizontal guide means associated with at least one of the supports so as to prevent the shelf from tilting forwardly a significant amount during and after forward movement thereof towards its predetermined forward position, the arrangement being such that, in its rearward position, the shelf can be tilted forwardly until the detent means clears said at least one horizontal support so as to permit removal of the shelf from the body.

2. A storage unit according to claim 1, in the form of a cabinet and in which a door is pivotally attached to the forward end of the shelf for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis.

3. A storage unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which a door is secured by means of one or more hinges to the forward end of the shelf, with the axis of the hinges being arranged substantially horizontally.

4. A storage unit according to claim 3, in which the hinges are positioned intermediate the top and bottom edges of the door.

5. A storage unit according to claim 4, in which the hinges are positioned between about one quarter and about one half way up the door measured from its lower edge.

6. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which detent means are provided at both sides of the shelf;

7. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the guide means with which the or each detent means engages comprises an under surface of a corresponding support.

8. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the guide means with which the or each detent means engages a separate guide means.

9. A storage unit according to claim 8, in which the separate guide means comprises a guide rail.

10. A storage unit according to claim 8, in which the separate guide means comprises a plurality of appropriately spaced guide rollers or idler wheels.

11. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the horizontal supports comprise rails.

1 2. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the horizontal supports comprise guide rollers or idler wheels.

1 3. A storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in which the detent means comprises end portions of a transverse member fastened to an extending across the back of the shelf, being maintained below and in spaced relationship thereto by suitable spacer means.

14. A storage unit constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.